Nationals Line Up Augmented Reality Promotion For NLDS Game 1

The Nationals for NLDS Game 1 against the Cubs Friday night will distribute more than 40,000 “K Cards” around at Nationals Park, each of which will unlock an augmented reality experience using MLBAM’s Ballpark mobile app. The AR content, triggered by pointing a phone over the back of the card, will include an animation featuring card sponsor Coca-Cola and a sizzle video featuring the Nationals’ pitching staff.

The effort, developed with MLBAM, extends a sharply increasing interest in AR technology by baseball. That push also included recent tests incorporating Statcast data; an activation earlier this week at a Nationals postseason fan pep rally; and club-level programs by the Phillies and Mets during the end of the regular season. “This is really just the beginning of a much bigger initiative we have developing in several things around AR, virtual reality and artificial intelligence,” said Nationals Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer Valerie Camillo.